Ennjay

To think the best player in that draft was Sammy Morris . . .

Nick Saban. Bobby Petrino.

What scares me -- and I've posted this before -- is that except for Harvey Johnson, who didn't want it, every interim coach Ralph has ever hired has been given at least another full year. Look at the chart in today's BNews story.

This opening provides a great opportunity for Ralph to bury the hatchet once and for all with Lou Saban.

Not exactly the same thing, but add Gregg Easterbrook (TMQB) and maybe even Tim Russert.

. . .

Not happening. Ralph's always planned to have his estate sell the team because it's the best way to raise the cash for his daughters to pay the inheritance tax. Why would he -- or anyone in the NFL -- consider donating a nine-figure asset to a not-for-profit? And don't bring up the Packers. The franchise wasn't worth much in the 50's when it went semi-public.

He was a Fox analyst before he went to Detroit, and that's exactly how he got the job: he impressed Bill Ford when he talked about the game.

. . . and I thought this was going to be Dom Capers vs. Marty Schottenheimer. Seriously.

And FWIW: Jax used our #1 pick for Fred Taylor.

It wasn't hiring Donahoe. The guy had the resume at the time. And it wasn't firing Donahoe. He had clearly failed by then. It was deciding after firing Donahoe that the Bills didn't need a real football executive to run the show. Thus we get Marv just to calm everyone down and eventually Brandon. If Ralph hires a real GM who wants to be a GM and has the background to BE a GM, everything turns out differently after Donahoe leaves.

Why did Ralph fire Polian?

"Shed your blocker, and THEN tackle the ballcarrier? Yeah, that's a good idea too. Thanks for thinking of it."

Is that the Mike McMahon from Rutgers who played for the Eagles? How old is he by now? Is THAT the kind of QB this league plays?

Actually he thought he was doing that with John Rauch in '67, but that didn't work either.

Bingo. What this team needs is a management overhaul to run the housecleaning. When Wayne Huizenga got fed up with mediocrity (Dave Wannstedt, Cam Cameron and his 1-15) he brought in Parcells and aced out Blank in Atlanta in the process. When Hunt (Lamar's son) got fed up in KC he brought in Scott Paoli. Those owners recognized they need real professionals to compete. Once -- ONCE -- in Bills history, Ralph thought it was time to bring in an outsider with a strong resume to retool the whole organization. That was Tom Donahoe. (Hard to remember, but at the time Bills fans thought it was a great move.) I worry that Ralph felt so burned by the Donahoe experience that he'll never bring in a legitimate football man.

Two things are bothering me about Ralph's history: 1. Historically he's rewarded interim coaches by giving them another season or two as a permanent hire. (Harvey Johnson was the only true "interim" coach, because he didn't want the job.) For that reason I think the Bills are better off firing Jauron in January when Ralph would follow him with an outsider. 2. I remember hearing in the late 80's/early 90's, when Ralph's daughter Linda was involved with the team, that he listened to her. Unfortunately she died after being away from the team for several years. I don't think it's a coincidence, because otherwise Ralph has little or no history of listening to anyone about football matters. (Linda supposedly encouraged him to run the team more like other organzations, with a real GM, etc.) Hence the current front office.

TMQ got it right way back when! "The colors of the American flag are not good enough for the Buffalo Bills! Oh, the football gods are going to punish the team for this affront. " -- and to this very day . . .

Sorry but I hate the La Tech shoulder stripes. Not as much as I hate the current Bills road uniforms, but still. . . What was wrong with royal blue?

Whatever a Tusker is, the logo is a pig.

I'm wondering if they're including long-term (future) obligations under contracts and especially unpaid bonuses.

$25,000 in 1959

"Last I recall, Gruden was canned in Tampa for being too hard on the players. " Seriously, I don't remember that. Is that true about him?

The Biggest Word in the English Language: "if"

Thanks for the update.